Biba | Explore 20th Century London Date Trading Ceased: 1975 The fashion label Biba started as a small boutique in South Kensington, and gradually expanded to become an entire department store. Fashion designer Barbara Hulanicki, with her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon, founded Biba by selling her designs via mail order. They opened their first shop in Abingdon Road, Kensington in 1964. Its popularity increased, and the boutique moved to larger premises in Kensington High Street in 1969, and again in 1971. Hulanicki drew much of her inspiration from retro styles such as Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Victoriana and the glamour of Hollywood. This nostalgic look was a bold contrast to the existing crisp, modern designs of the time. Biba outfits, with their narrow upper arms and slim-fitting designs, suited slender frames. In 1973, with the financial support of Dorothy Perkins and the Fraser group, Biba moved into the empty Derry & Toms department store also on Kensington High Street. The Biba flagship store sold everything from specially packaged baked beans to satin sheets.

Biba had become a lifestyle choice, and shoppers could not only purchase a fully co-coordinated outfit, but also cosmetics, soft furnishings, household products such as washing powder, and food. All goods were presented in the distinctive black and gold Biba packaging. The department store had opulent dcor, which featured black glass counters and parlour palms. Shoppers could also be entertained, drinking cocktails in the Roof Garden, where flamingos also lived, or in the Rainbow Room, where live musical performances took place. Despite famous customers such as Brigitte Bardot, Princess Anne, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull, the store was never the exclusive preserve of the rich and famous. Prices were kept deliberately low, and everyone was encouraged to soak up the glamour of an unforgettable shopping experience. Hulanicki's determination to pursue her vision set her at odds with her backers. In 1975, the shop closed down. The story of Biba and Barbara Hulanicki is typical of the 1960s designer retailers. At this time, there was a strong desire by designers to create a new kind of shop, and they refused to moderate their designs for the mass-market.

This was combined with contempt for conventional retailing and business knowledge, making London fashion innovative and unique, but also short-lived in many cases. BBC - British Style Genius - High Street Style - BIBA: "A Strange Disneyland" Thread - online fashion magazine BIBA: "A Strange Disneyland" Popular 60s boutique BIBA was a place where freedom and creativity reigned supreme. The music was played at maximum volume in a shop that was dressed like a film set, combining Art Deco, Nouveau, Victoriana and the golden age glamour of Hollywood – a fusion reflected in the label’s designs. Imagination ran free in this fashion wonderland, which was described at the time as "a strange Disneyland", and a "dream made real." BIBA combined cutting edge couture with a price tag that people could afford. For the same price as a Mary Quant Bazaar party dress, one could walk out of BIBA with a new dress, shoes, coat, hat and handbag. Hordes of young women snapped up Barbara Hulanicki’s designs and turned her store into one of the biggest names on the high street.

A uniquely designed range of ever-changing fashion lines from make-up to feather boas and dresses adorned the lavishly decorated shop. BIBA only ever made two to three hundred of any garment in order to keep their collection fresh and keep their eager customers coming back for more. Key moments Founded in 1964 by ex fashion illustrator Barbara Hulanicki Open Abingdon Road boutique in West London Success forced the shop to move every two years to meet demand By early 1970s it had become the first new department store to open in London since World War II 1974 legions of fashionistas flocked to the six storey High Street Kensington store Became the second biggest tourist attraction after the Tower of London 1975 store closed down About Barbara « Barbara Hulanicki About Barbara photograph by Dania Graibe Born in Poland, but raised in England, Barbara Hulanicki OBE is deservedly recognized now as a British fashion icon, having just been awarded an OBE for Services to Fashion in the 2012 Queen’s New Year Honors.

Barbara began her career in Fashion in the early 1960′s working as a freelance fashion illustrator covering all the important fashion collections for the major publications of the day, including Women’s Wear Daily, British Vogue, the Times, the Observer and the Sunday Times. In 1964 she founded, with her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, the boutique BIBA, beginning as a small mail-order business featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the DAILY MIRROR. Today, Barbara continues to create her innovative designs as a retail & design consultant to a number of US and UK major fashion and home ware retailers, supplying designs exclusive to each company. Among these are her exclusive collections ‘Barbara Hulanicki for George of Asda’ which continue to be very successful, the first one having launched in November 2010 and already extended well into 2012. This collaboration started with George at Asda in September 2010 with Barbara creating illustrations for T-Shirts in their Tickled Pink Breast Awareness campaign in September 2010.

Her most recent collaborations are with HOMESENSE / TK MAXX where she has designed an exciting and exclusive Cushion collection launching in April 2012. Thirdly, is DISNEY Europe, for whom she has in her unique style of Illustration drawn the Disney characters of Maleficent and Diablo, available on Wallpaper, which launched in late 2011 through Graham and Brown. Barbara is now in the process of designing exclusive fireplaces for Chesney Ltd which should be available later in 2012 and early 2013. She continues to design new Handbag collections for COCCINELLE, Italy and Wallpapers and Illustrations for GRAHAM & BROWN both of which have retained her since 2003. Through Graham & Brown, Barbara’s wallpaper is now available in the UK at NEXT and in the USA at TARGET and her new Paint Collection launched in the UK in 2010 at ‘100% Design London’, the UK’s leading contemporary interiors event connecting the worlds of architecture and design with innovative, contemporary interior products. Barbara has been bestowed with Honorary Doctorates from the Academic Institutions Heriot -Watt University in Edinburgh and The University of Brighton.

Many more Fashion Design Universities are now approaching her to share the simple but unique ingredients she incorporates into all that she designs. She has become a Patron of the Fashion Retail Club, endorsing its mission to bring opportunities available in the world of fashion retail closer to Club members who are undergraduates and graduates of fashion design and business related courses. The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA) inducted her in 2009 as a Royal Designer for Industry. Constantly breaking new ground Barbara exhibited her fashion illustrations at the Calix Gustav Gallery during the Art Basel Fair Miami Beach 2010 and in 2008, the Congingsby Gallery London featured Barbara’s first solo art show, which sold out the night of its debut. Looking back at her contribution to the creative world, the Biba success story is worthy of a Hollywood movie: a husband and wife, Barbara Hulanicki and her partner, Stephen Fitz-Simon, go into business together against the advice of those around them.

After a few false starts and refusing to give up, their last-ditched attempt — a pink gingham dress with a round hole in the back and a matching head scarf — strikes a chord with the public and sells thousands of units, allowing them to open a store which becomes an icon of hip 60′s and 70′s London. It becomes a hangout for artists, film stars and rock musicians, including Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Marianne Faithful among the regulars. The first Biba store was a small Chemist’s shop in Abingdon Road, but by the time Biba’s doors closed in 1976 it had evolved into an elaborate 5-story Art Deco department store with a restaurant and a roof garden overlooking High Street Kensington. The avant-garde BIBA cosmetics brand was being sold in 33 countries across the globe. Biba finally closed its doors in 1976, a victim of corporate raiding before the term had even entered the business vernacular.

Hulanicki continued to work in Fashion, designing for such fashion greats as Fiorucci and Cacharel and for twelve years, from 1980 to 1992, designed a successful line of children’s wear, MINIROCK, licensed to the Japanese market. In 1980, she returned to the UK from living in glamorous Brazil to open a series of clothing boutiques and start a make-up line, all under her own name. From 1980 to 1987, she worked as a fashion photographer for the London Evening Standard and returned briefly to fashion illustration to draw Sarah Ferguson’s wedding dress for the London newspapers. In 1983 she wrote her memoirs in the book FROM A TO BIBA, which was published by Hutchinson’s. In 1987 she arrived in Miami Beach where she reinvented herself yet again as a designer of interiors and exteriors, single-handedly re-conceiving Miami Beach’s then re-emerging Art Deco District. Her projects began with Woody’s on the Beach, which she designed in 1987 for Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones.

She created a series of restaurants, night clubs and super-clubs, including Who’s in the Grove, Sempers, Match Club and Bolero Restaurant. From 1992 to 1997 she worked for Gloria and Emilio Estefan designing the interiors for their personal recording studios, the Cardozo Hotel on Ocean Drive, their private home on Star Island, costumes for the music video “Mi Buen Amor”, as well as consulting on BONGO, the Estefan’s restaurant in Disney World, Orlando, with the Architectonica Group. From 1990 to 2006, Hulanicki has perhaps had the most impact on Miami Beach through her work for Chris Blackwell and his Island Outpost Group. She twice reconceived the MARLIN Hotel, on Collins Avenue, as well as the CAVALIER Hotel, Ocean Drive, the LESLIE Hotel, Ocean drive, The NETHERLANDS building, Ocean Drive, and the KENT on Collins Avenue.

Other Caribbean properties she has designed for Blackwell include the COMPASS POINT Hotel and beach resort in Nassau, Bahamas – which is prominently featured in all the Bahamian Tourist Board television commercials – as well as the PINK SANDS resort on Harbor Island, Bahamas. In 1993 Hulanicki won an award from the American Institute of Architects for her work on the NETHERLANDS, as well as an award from an association of Florida Architects. Hulanicki’s other projects have included private luxury homes on Palm Island and Dilido Island in Miami as well as several commercial properties, including the BEACH HOUSES at CORAL SANDS HOTEL on Harbor Island, Bahamas and hotel development for Chris Blackwell’s GOLDENEYE in Oracabessa, Jamaica. One of the crowning achievements of Hulanicki’s impact can be witnessed in the opening of the Hollywood hit movie “The Birdcage”. A sweeping helicopter shot flows over the waves to zero in on the primary location for the film, the Cleveland Hotel on Ocean Drive, which is flanked by no less than four Hulanicki-designed buildings – the Leslie, the Cardozo, the Cavalier and the Netherlands.

From 2001 to 2002 she worked on the Island life Ministore, located in the heart of Miami Beach on Ocean Drive. Hulanicki renovated this unique shop at owner Chris Blackwell’s request. Coined as “tropical lux,” the lifestyle store contained a large collection of ethnic gift items, music, film, jewellery and accessories from around the world. It also boasted men’s, women’s and children’s apparel designed by Hulanicki. Additionally, throughout her career, Hulanicki has designed costumes for several stage and film productions, including clothing for Cathy McGowan on the influential live TV rock show “READY STEADY GO” (1964), outfits for Julie Christie in “DARLING” (1965), costumes for local productions in Miami Beach, costumes for old friend and Biba model Twiggy for “CAPTAIN BEAKY” in London’s West End and her Royal Command Performance in 1976. She also designed Wallpaper and textile designs for HABITAT stores in the UK. In 2008 she designed a fashion collection for TOP SHOP, which included her fashion illustrations used as prints.

In 2009, the Victoria and Albert Museum republished her memoirs FROM A TO BIBA and accompanied the book launch with a range of jewellery and scarf designs. Subsequently her autobiography inspired November Films, an Independent Film Company, to document her life and career in a recently released feature film called BEYOND BIBA. And looking further ahead? Barbara is making a Guest appearance at ‘Bath in Fashion 2012’ following the showing of the Documentary ‘Beyond Biba’ in March 2012. Then later in the year in September 2012, a major fashion exhibition ‘’Biba and Beyond: Barbara Hulanicki’ at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, will open. It will celebrate the innovative, unique and distinctive creative flair that Barbara Hulanicki has brought to all of her work, reviewing her life from her childhood, early career in fashion illustration, and her creation of Biba in the 1960s; to her key role in the regeneration of Miami Beach and her recent High Street fashion and interiors collections.

With loans from major collectors and private individuals the exhibition will tell Hulanicki’s story through illustrations, film, fashion, music, photography, ephemera and the memories and reminiscences of those who shared the experience. Barbara Hulanicki Feb 2012 Born in Poland, but raised in England, Barbara Hulanicki OBE is deservedly recognized now as a British fashion icon, having just been awarded an OBE for Services to Fashion in the 2012 Queen’s New Year Honours. Barbara began her career in Fashion in the early 1960′s working as a freelance fashion illustrator covering all the important fashion collections for the major publications of the day, including Women’s Wear Daily, British Vogue, the Times, the Observer and the Sunday Times. In 1964 she founded, with her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, the boutique BIBA, beginning as a small mail-order business featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the DAILY MIRROR. © All rights reserved by Barbara Hulanicki.

P If you thought that Harvey Nichols or Topshop were the epitome of a London fashion department store, it’s time to re-introduce you to Big Biba, a fallen icon of the Swinging Sixties that redefined the High Street shopping experience… It all started in 1964, when a small-time mail order business called Biba’s Postal Boutique advertised a pink gingham dress in the Daily Mirror that was similar to one worn by Brigitte Bardot. Over 4,000 orders were in the next day and went up to 17,000 in total. Behind this gingham mod dress was Polish-born designer, Barbara Hulanicki, who was able to open her first chocolate-box boutique in 1964 behind Kensington High Street after growing out of the mail order business. The Biba boutique only sold one type of dress in one size, but that didn’t stop young fashionistas from coming. The store was sold out of within an hour on the first day. One of the reasons for Biba’s initial success was the support of Friday night television show Ready, Steady, Go.

Whatever Biba outfit the show’s host wore on the Friday night prime time slot was available to young girls the next day, for a very affordable price. But Biba’s real imprint on fashion history however, came with the Big Biba store, which opened in 1973 in a seven-story building, formerly Derry & Toms department store, on Kensington High Street. A Willy Wonka factory for fashion, the Big Biba store was an extravaganza of crazy interior design and clever marketing. As soon as it opened its doors it was the place to be, attracting up to a million visitors a week, making it one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city. Each floor had its own decadent theme with its own particular design. Starting with the children’s floor, there was a storybook village with a castle, a saloon, a carousel and a thatched house kid’s café with toadstool picnic tables. Photographs via Kasia Charko’s Biba archive blog. The music department had a fully functioning giant record player. The food department was sectioned into separate units that each contained one type of item.

There was a section modelled after Hulanicki’s great dane Othello in which you’d find only dog food; a soap bar with cleaning products; a gigantic baked beans can filled with baked bean cans; and a can of Warhol’s Condensed Soup which contained – you guessed it – cans of soup (not Warhol). Nightwear and lingerie were sold on a boudoir platform complete with a bed, nightstand and wardrobe. The communal changing rooms were Egyptian themed and held marvellous Amun-Ra mirrors. Still, many customers, even celebrities, opted to skip the changing rooms all together and changed in the middle of the store. The general design of the store was inspired by old Hollywood glamour and Art Deco style. The store was kept very dark and there were mirrors and peacock feathers everywhere. Most iconic at Big Biba was the Rainbow Room Restaurant, a large open space with giant rainbow colored lighting on the ceiling. It was a great place for star spotting, a go-to hangout for celebrities like Mick Jagger, Twiggy, Julie Christie and Tony Curtis. It was also used as a concert venue and several artists, including David Bowie recorded music videos there.

Twiggy in the Rainbow Room Another famed feature at Biba were the Kensington Roof Gardens where you could enjoy a cream tea or a cocktail amongst exotic plants, flamingos and, according to Barbara Hulanicki, some particularly vengeful penguins. About 70 percent of Biba’s merchandise was house’s own brand and the Biba logo itself was as iconic as the Biba look. It was stamped on everything in the store, from food to makeup to the wallpaper. There was even a special “Logo Shop” where you could buy Biba playing cards, matchboxes and coloring books. The distinct Art Deco style of the logo (originally designed by Antony Little) was adapted to suit different products. Graphic designer Kasia Charko was responsible for designing custom Biba logo’s for different departments as well as some Biba advertisements. Although the store was open to the public, Biba catered to a very specific type of girl; young, skinny and pale. Barbara Hulanicki once said that her ideal customers were “postwar babies who had been deprived of nourishing protein in childhood and grew up into beautiful skinny people: a designers dream.

I didn’t take much of them to look outstanding.” All sales-girls fit this description and Vogue’s Anna Wintour even once worked as a Biba Saturday Girl. The iconic Biba or “Dudu” look consisted of dark, short and tight dresses, dark lips and makeup and lots of Biba accessories to complete the look. The fact that many of these outfits were itchy and didn’t allow for much room to move didn’t matter– if you wanted to be a Biba girl, you put up with it. Biba was also the first store to allow customers to try on make up before they bought it. Heaps of girls came to the store bare-faced early in the morning, put on free makeup and headed off their jobs. But Biba’s star rose as quickly as it fell. Only a year after the grand opening, Britain’s falling economy and the financial strains of keeping up the extravagant store resulted in the demise of the fashion store. The last Biba sale. Biba was briefly kept alive with a shareholding deal, but after Barbara left due to creative differences, the shareholders decided that selling the building would earn them more than trying to keep the store running.

Today, there is little trace of the short-lived but iconic swinging sixties store on the high street. The old location is now used by Marks and Spencers, a GAP store, H&M, Sony Music offices and a gym. While the Kensington Roof Gardens still exist as a restaurant and bar, Biba’s multi-colored rainbow room is now filled with state of the art gym equipment. Although you can’t visit the store anymore, you can still get your hands on some new Biba fashion. Over the past few decades, several designers have tried to relaunch the Biba brand (all without Barbara Hulanicki’s involvement). Most of them failed miserably, but in 2009, the department store House of Fraser bought the rights to the Biba label and successfully reintroduced the brand with London “It Girl” Daisy Lowe as its new face. Barbara Hulanicki was originally displeased with this venture (again, she wasn’t involved) but later signed a consulting contract with House of Fraser and also designed a few capsule collections for Topshop. She currently resides in Miami, Florida where she has an interior design business.

Biba’s in-house graphic designer, Kasia Charko, has her own blog which acts as a sort of online historical archive for the brand. It’s a treasure trove for vintage Biba products and advertising and shares all the insider gossip on working for Biba alongside Barbara until the store’s untimely closure. There’s also a documentary worth seeing called Beyond Biba: A Portrait of Baraba Hulanicki . About this Contributor . Inge Oosterhoff is a Dutch graduate of North American Studies, currently living in the Netherlands. With a love for the odd and the unexpected she is on a never-ending search for new stories, new people and the very best coffee in the world. You can connect with Inge through her Linkedin profile, Twitter or Tumblr . BBC News - In pictures: Biba fashion exhibition 19 September 2012 Last updated at 06:40 In pictures: Biba fashion exhibition Share this page Copyright © 2016 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled.

While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. BBC ON THIS DAY | 10 | 1973: Big Biba opens its doors About This Site | Text Only 1973: Big Biba opens its doors Biba has re-opened for business in the seven-floor Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street, West London. Designer Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Simon Fitzsimon have spent �1m refurbishing the Art Deco department store - known as Big Biba - to house her idiosyncratic collection of clothes and accessories. The shop will also stock cosmetics, household goods, children's clothes, sports equipment, furniture, paints and wallpaper, stationery, a food hall and a restaurant. Biba made the move from a smaller shop further down the High Street but it began life as a mail order company in 1964. The idea was to sell affordable but distinctive clothes for young women, and later men.

Ms Hulanicki, a former art student, designed the fabrics and outfits influenced by Art Nouveau, Art Deco and kitsch. From boutique to big business In 1963, the Mirror newspaper featured one of Biba's gingham dresses at just under �3 and orders flooded in. So Biba opened a boutique in Abingdon Road, Kensington in 1964. Popular demand meant Biba had to move to Kensington Church Street and then to a much larger store in a former carpet shop in Kensington High Street in 1969. It was a small department store decorated in a unique blend of Victoriana and Hollywood with dark moody colours, potted palms and with the sound of the wild pop music in the background. That year Dorothy Perkins bought 75% of Biba taking it from a loss of �40,000 to a profit of �300,000. Rainbow Room restaurant Ms Hulanicki says she had long dreamed of owning the Art Deco building along the road and now her dream has come true - and no product goes on the shelves without her approval.

Dorothy Perkins, and its new owner British Land, agreed to pay �3.75m for the leasehold and is charging Biba a preferential rental rate to use it. Judging by the crowds that came to gawp at the lavish interiors today, it looks set to succeed. The store, designed by Tim Whitmore and Steven Thomas, reflects the decadence of the 1930s when the building was created and boasts a large restaurant in the fifth-floor Rainbow Room. By closing time it had served 5,000 meals. Biba's world famous fashions - a decadent Edwardian look, floppy satins and silks and ostrich feather boas - can be found on the first floor with its trademark hat-stands showing off latest designs and open-plan changing rooms. "I can just imagine Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing over these marble floors", a student visiting the shop on its first day told The Times newspaper. But she adds: "It's best seen and not bought." Indeed some business experts are sceptical the ambitious venture can work.

The Financial Times says the store wastes valuable selling space - Biba has moved from a retail space of 9,000 sq ft (2,743sq m) to 80,000 sq ft (24,380 sq m) but uses less than half of the space for selling its wares with the second, third and fourth floors almost empty. It also questions whether Barbara Hulanicki's "strongly personalised style" can make a smooth transfer to the household goods section. "The joke has been taken too far," says the paper. "One bright pink nylon broom is fun, but a barrowful is a little worrying." 1000+ images about Biba on Pinterest | Barbara hulanicki, Rainbow room and Swinging london 70s scenesters living it up 20s style at the Deco-fabulous Derry & Toms Rainbow Room in 1972, before the building became Big Biba.

Photograph: Joe Gaffney See More Dedo Press: Barbara Hulanicki Barbara Hulanicki Barbara Hulanicki Illustrator and cover artist of "Yoga Practice Journal" Born in Poland, but raised in England, Barbara Hulanicki began her career in Fashion in the early 1960's working as a freelance fashion illustrator covering all the important fashion collections for the major publications of the day, including Women's Wear Daily, British Vogue, the Times, the Observer and the Sunday Times. In 1964 she founded, with her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon, the boutique BIBA, beginning as a small mail-order business featured in the fashion columns of newspapers such as the DAILY MIRROR. The Biba success story is worthy of a Hollywood movie: a husband and wife, Barbara Hulanicki and her partner, Stephen Fitz-Simon, go into business together against the advice of those around them.

After a few false starts and refusing to give up, their last-ditched attempt -- a pink gingham dress with a round hole in the back and a matching head scarf -- strikes a chord with the public and sells thousands of units, allowing them to open a store which becomes an icon of hip 60's and 70's London. It becomes a hangout for artists, film stars and rock musicians, including Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Marianne Faithful among the regulars. The first Biba store was a small Chemist's shop in Abingdon Road, but by the time Biba's doors closed in 1976 it had evolved into an elaborate 5-story Art Deco department store with a restaurant and a roof garden overlooking High Street Kensington. The avant-garde BIBA cosmetics brand was being sold in 33 countries across the globe. Biba finally closed its doors in 1976, a victim of corporate raiding before the term had even entered the business vernacular.

Hulanicki continued to work in Fashion, designing for such fashion greats as Fiorucci and Cacharel and for twelve years, from 1980 to 1992, designed a successful line of children's wear, MINIROCK, licensed to the Japanese market. In 1980, she returned to the UK from living in glamorous Brazil to open a series of clothing boutiques and start a make-up line, all under her own name. From 1980 to 1987, she dabbled in fashion photography for the London Evening Standard and returned briefly to fashion illustration to draw Sarah Ferguson's wedding dress for the London newspapers. In 1983 she wrote her memoirs in the book FROM A TO BIBA, which was published by Hutchinson's. In 1987 she arrived in Miami Beach where she reinvented herself yet again as a designer of interiors and exteriors, single-handedly reconceiving Miami Beach's then re-emerging Art Deco District. Her projects began with Woody's on the Beach, which she designed in 1987 for Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones.

She created a series of restaurants, night clubs and super-clubs, including Who's in the Grove, Sempers, Match Club and Bolero Restaurant. From 1992 to 1997 she worked for Gloria and Emilio Estefan designing the interiors for their personal recording studios, the interiors of the Cardozo Hotel on Ocean Drive, their private home on Star Island, costumes for the music video "Mi Buen Amor", as well as consulting on BONGO, the Estefan's restaurant project in Disney World, Orlando, with the Architectonica Group. From 1990 to the present, Hulanicki has perhaps had the most impact on Miami Beach through her work for Chris Blackwell and his Island Outpost Group. She has twice reconceived the MARLIN Hotel, on Collins Avenue, as well as the CAVALIER Hotel, Ocean Drive, the LESLIE Hotel, Ocean drive, The NETHERLANDS building, Ocean Drive, and now the KENT on Collins Avenue.

Other Caribbean properties she has designed for Blackwell include the COMPASS POINT Hotel and beach resort in Nassau, Bahamas - which is prominently featured in all the Bahamian Tourist Board television commercials - the PINK SANDS resort on Harbor Island, Bahamas. In 1993 Hulanicki won an award from the American Institute of Architects for her work on the NETHERLANDS, as well as an award from an association of Florida Architects. From 200? to 200? (add dates) worked on the Island life Ministore, located in the heart of Miami Beach on Ocean Drive. This unique shop was renovated completely by Hulanicki at owner Chris Blackwell's request. Coined as "tropical lux," this lifestyle store contained a large collection of gift items, music and film, jewelry and accessories from around the world. It also boasted men's, women's and children's apparel custom colored and designed by Hulanicki herself.

Hulanicki's most recent projects have included private luxury homes on Palm Island and Dilido Island in Miami as well as several commercial properties, including the BEACH HOUSE on Harbor Island, Bahamas, the BITTER END YACHT CLUB in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, Gloria and Emilio Estefan's HOTEL IN VERO BEACH, Florida, as well as hotel development for Chris Blackwell's GOLDENEYE in Oracabessa, Jamaica. She has also delved back into the world of fashion, designing a fashion tee line for the New-York Based *B WITH G*. Perhaps most exciting of Hulanicki's upcoming projects is the line of furniture that she is designing for Los Angeles based company IN CLOVER. This innovative line will be sold to showrooms and to the hospitality industry. The crowning achievement of Hulanicki's impact can be witnessed in the opening of the Hollywood hit movie "The Birdcage". A sweeping helicopter shot flows over the waves to zero in on the primary location for the film, the Cleveland Hotel on Ocean Drive which is flanked by no less than four Hulanicki-designed buildings - the Leslie, the Cardozo, the Cavalier and the Netherlands.

Additionally, throughout her career, Hulanicki has designed costumes for several stage and film productions, including clothing for Cathy McGowan on the influential live TV rock show "READY STEADY GO" (1964), outfits for Julie Christie in "DARLING" (1965), costumes for old friend and Biba model Twiggy for "CAPTAIN BEAKY" in London's West End and her Royal Command Performance in 1976. The published version of the "Yoga Practice Journal" can be purchased direct from the publisher or ordered through your local bookshop. To find out more about Barbara Hulanicki, visit her website at Click here to read an article about Witold Fitz-Simon and Barbara Hulanicki. ï¿½ 2006 Dedo Press | Vintage Fashion Guild : Label Resource : Biba Vintage Fashion Guild | by admin | Label Resource | Labels Biba started life in late 1963 as a mail order company advertising ready-to-sew garments designed by Barbara Hulanicki, although the enterprise did not have the name Biba at that point. The garments were advertised in British daily newspapers such as the Daily Mirror.

Hulanicki’s big break came when Daily Mirror’s fashion editor Felicity Green asked Hulanicki to design a garment for a feature on young designers in May 1964. Not having a name for their new enterprise Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon decided upon the name Biba, the shortened version of her sister’s name Biruta. Hulanicki designed a pink gingham dress and no less than 4,000 orders were received. Eventually 17,000 of the dresses were sold. As the postal business grew they opened their first Biba boutique in September 1964 in Abingdon Road, London where they stayed until they moved to larger premises on Kensington Church Street in March 1966. They briefly opened a Biba boutique, the only one outside London, in Brighton in February 1966 and closed it by the end of the year. In April 1968 the first of the Biba mail order catalogues was launched. There were six altogether, the last one published in the late summer of 1969.

The famous Biba celtic label and ‘fat’ Biba lettering was designed by John McConnell in 1968. They introduced it into the clothes and it became the first Biba garment label. On September 15th 1969 Biba moved to much larger premises on Kensington High Street and widened their range of goods to include men’s clothes, a wider range of children’s clothes and household goods. They also brought out their first range of footwear at this time and were reportedly selling up to 75,000 pairs of the famous Biba skinny boots per month. In April 1970 Biba launched a range of cosmetics and the ‘fat’ Biba lettering was slimmed down for printing on small items, though the celtic logo remained the same. This new look logo was then printed onto garment labels and the woven label and the ‘fat’ Biba lettering was gradually phased out. They also introduced different colour labels around this time, notably pale yellow and cream coloured labels into their lingerie and nightwear. In February 1971 a Biba department opened in Bergdorf Goodman’s department store in New York.

In September 1973 Biba made its final move into the ‘Derry & Thoms’ building on Kensington High Street where it remained until its closure in September 1975. In this store they introduced a different Biba logo for each department as well as retaining the original celtic logo. It is in this store Biba became the first ever lifestyle label producing own name brand food, leather goods and furniture amongst its vast range. In July 1977 the rights to the Biba name were sold. The rights would be sold several times over the coming years. Since 1977 there have been a number of Biba shops and label relaunches, none of which have the involvement of Barbara Hulanicki and are therefore not considered to be true ‘Biba’ from a collector’s point of view. Barbara Hulanicki designed under her own name from 1980 – 1987, when she moved to Miami Beach and began work as an interior designer. Label notes: Biba did not label their clothing until 1968. Until that time the clothing had only a tiny white size label with with the size printed in red.

The Biba font was designed by John McConnell in 1968. This label was used from 1968 around the launch of the first catalogue and it phased out in early 1971. In 1970 the font was slimmed down, as when they first tried to reduce the logo for printing on the new cosmetics range the original font couldn’t be read, so it was slimmed down especially for printing and then used on garment labels and other products as well to keep the labeling uniform. In 1971 all labels became printed (gold on black and later black on gold also like the third example). Collectors need to be aware that there is a modern Biba label that looks very similar to the vintage ones. Written by Biba collector, Angie Smith from a late 1960s/early 1970s mini dress (woven) Courtesy of vintage-a-peel.co.uk

Question: Which store did Barbara Hulanicki open in Kensington in 1964?
Answer: Biba